Move WUBI Ubuntu Install to an external USB drive

In the following tutorial, we show you how to move your existing Wubi Ubuntu install to an external USB drive. This enables you to take your Wubi install of Ubuntu with you. Moreover, because Wubi is using loopfiles (files that once mounted, act as partitions), the remaining NTFS partitioned drive space is still completely usable by Windows for storage. If you ever should decide you no longer want to play with Ubuntu, you can simply delete it from the external USB drive without the need to delete partitions etc.

Note: This tutorial is obsolete and left for reference only. Wubi has migrated to Grub 2. Use this Move WUBI to a USB Flash Drive tutorial for the newer version.

USB Wubi Ubuntu Prerequisites:

Wubi Installation of Ubuntu preinstalled on your Windows XP system

An external USB hard drive (capacity must be greater than the local Ubuntu folder)

Next, copy the following folders and files from your local hard drive to the external USB drive (note: you must be able to view hidden files):

ubuntu

boot.ini

NTDETECT.COM

ntldr

wubildr

wubildr.mbr

Your USB drive should now look something like this:

Next, from your USB drive, navigate to ubuntu\disks\boot\grub and open menu.lst with a text editor.

Scroll down to around line 132 and change all occurrences of root=UUID from root=UUID=1234567890 to root=LABEL=USB

Save your changes and reboot. Set your BIOS or Boot menu to boot from the USB drive and attempt to start from the external drive.

Select the Ubuntu option when prompted to boot from Windows XP or Ubuntu:

Note: If you prefer, to only use the portable Wubi installation, you can proceed to uninstall the Wubi Ubuntu install from your PC. However, make sure you have removed the USB drive before doing so. The Wubi uninstaller will remove it's related files from any partition it finds them on.